BALTIMORE – Muhlenberg College blazed its way into the Centennial Conference Tournament championship game by shooting a season-high 54.9 percent from the field to take down Gettysburg College 75-60 inside Johns Hopkins University's Goldfarb Gym on Saturday.
Gettysburg (19-7), which trailed by double figures for the majority of the game, received 16 points from junior Julie McGrory (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown). Sophomore Alyssa Oursler (Middletown, Md./Middletown) tallied 13 points and seven boards, while senior Caitlin Moser (Wyomissing, Pa./Wyomissing) finished off her collegiate career with a dozen points, seven rebounds, and three steals.
Sheila Cook led Muhlenberg (20-5) with a game-high 22 points. Kelly McKeon put up a double-double out of the guard spot with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Alexandra Chili notched 13 points and six assists.
Muhlenberg was hot from the start, canning its first five shots and going without back-to-back misses until the six-minute mark of the opening half. The team hit 14-of-17 shots to start to take a 38-17 lead at 7:29.
Gettysburg cut into the deficit before the half with a McGrory three from the corner pulling the team to 43-29 with just over a minute remaining. The Mules knocked down a free throw before the half to head into the locker room with a 15-point advantage.
Muhlenberg kept up the momentum in the second half, building its lead to 22 (59-37) following a bucket by Alita Zabrecky at 11:21. The Mules were up by 21 before the Bullets staged a comeback, slicing the deficit to 10 (66-56) with a 13-2 run capped with an old-fashioned three-point play by McGrory at 3:47.
On Muhlenberg's ensuing possession, McKeon provided a dagger by driving baseline with the shot clock about to expire and throwing up a lay-up while drawing a foul. The ball made its way through the net to give the Mules a 68-56 advantage at 3:19. Gettysburg pulled no closer than 11 for the remainder of the game.
Muhlenberg finished 28-of-51 from the field, including 5-of-11 from beyond the three-point line. Gettysburg finished 21-of-61 (34.4 percent) from the field and 15-of-22 (68.2 percent) from the charity stripe.